This article is part of our Yahoo DFS Hockey series.
Welcome to November! The month begins with a huge day of NHL action. We're talking 12 matchups, which means a lot of options for your DFS lineups. Let's start the month off right! Here are some players to target, and to avoid, for your lineups and your contests.
GOALIE
Sergei Bobrovsky, FLA at ARI ($31): Bobrovsky is off to a slow start, but this is a chance for him to get on track. The Coyotes were last in goals per game last year. This year, they've scored 2.88 goals per contest, but put a mere 22.5 shots on net per game. That's staggeringly low, and if "Bob" can't handle this matchup, well, it might be time to get worried about this season for the Russian netminder.
GOALIE TO AVOID
Tristan Jarry, PIT vs. BOS ($30): Jarry has been quite busy so far. He has a .915 save percentage, but a 3.03 GAA because the Penguins have been porous defensively. Boston is off to a strong start on offense, even with Brad Marchand only just returning to the lineup, as the Bruins lead the league with 4.22 goals per game.
CENTER
Tomas Hertl, SAN vs. ANA ($14): Hertl doesn't have a goal since San Jose's season opener, which was in Prague mind you, but he has five assists over his last six outings. John Gibson has an .888 save percentage, which is concerning for the Ducks given that their young, rebuilding squad has allowed a whopping 37.2 shots on net per contest.
CENTER TO AVOID
Kevin Hayes, PHI at NYR ($17): Somehow, Hayes has nine assists through eight games. Given that he's never had more than 36 helpers in a season, I expected that pace to slow down, especially since the Flyers lack the finishers to keep this going over a larger sample. Igor Shesterkin is coming off winning the Vezina with a 2.07 GAA and .935 save percentage, and even with a couple off nights to start this season he has a 2.55 GAA and .913 save percentage.
WING
Jonathan Marchessault, VGK at WAS ($21): Marchessault came out the gate unsustainably hot, and indeed he's still shooting at a 16.7 percent clip even though he doesn't have a goal in his last four games. However, he has two assists in those four outings, and last season he scored 30 goals on 251 shots on net. The Capitals are on the second leg of a back-to-back, and Charlie Lindgren will be in net. The 28-year-old has played all of 31 NHL games over seven seasons, and there is likely a reason for that.
Mason Marchment, DAL vs. LOS ($17): The Stars didn't give Marchment a four-year deal in free agency only to forget about him. They've slotted him on the second line, and he's averaged 15:52 in ice time, including 1:50 with the extra man. It's paid off, as he has seven points in nine games. The Kings are the one team of the road finishing off a back-to-back Monday, and they have one of the worst goaltending situations in the NHL. Backup Cal Petersen has an .892 save percentage over the last two seasons.
WINGS TO AVOID
Alex Ovechkin, WAS vs. VGK ($29): Ovechkin's team is banged up, on a back-to-back, and also stepping into a tricky matchup. The Golden Knights actually lead the NHL with an 1.70 GAA. Logan Thompson is a big part of that, as he has a .943 save percentage through six starts.
Patrick Kane, CHI vs. NYI ($26): I'm going to the top of the salary charts Monday for my guys to avoid. With 24 teams in action, you have a lot of options out there. Don't crowd your cap with high-salary guys in difficult matchups. Kane's 7.7 percent shooting to start the season isn't great, but if you are expecting that number to ramp up, over the last three seasons he's got an 8.5 percent mark. Meanwhile, in his career Ilya Sorokin has a 2.33 GAA and .924 save percentage.
DEFENSE
Brandon Montour, FLA at ARI ($18): The 28-year-old has stepped up to replace Aaron Ekblad while the latter is injured. Montour has averaged a whopping 25:40 in ice time, including 5:47 with the extra man. That's helped him rack up eight points in seven games. The Coyotes have been as terrible as most of us expected defensively, as they have a 4.38 GAA and have allowed 36.6 shots on net per contest, not to mention perhaps the worst goaltending situation in the NHL.
Rasmus Andersson, CGY vs. SEA ($17): Andersson broke through last season, in part because he had 19 points on the power play. This year he's averaged 3:33 per game with the extra man and notched four power-play points through seven games. The Kraken have the 30th-ranked penalty kill and while it's early, they were also terrible killing penalties last year, so I have a little more faith in that number.
DEFENSEMEN TO AVOID
Kris Letang, PIT vs. BOS ($22): For starters, Letang is under the weather, so there is an outside chance he doesn't play at all Tuesday. It's rare for a player to miss a game due to illness (non-COVID edition) though, so he will probably take the ice but be less than 100 percent. This is not an easy matchup even if he were fully healthy, though. The Bruins have the second-best GAA and second-best penalty kill percentage, and Linus Ullmark has a .945 save percentage.
Thomas Chabot, OTT at TAM ($20): Chabot has handled his business, though his 8.7 percent shooting will likely regress. Andrei Vasilevskiy is also off to a somewhat slow start. However, we're talking about a goalie with a career .919 save percentage. Also, weirdly, this will only be Vasilevskiy's second home start of the season. Last year, the Russian netminder had a .909 save percentage on the road, but a .927 save percentage at home.
